Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour wants you to fill in the BLANK

Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour wants you to fill in the BLANK

No set. No director. A story open to the public and completed by the audience.

A story machine to create new stories every night. Come join us and help us fill in the Blanks.

 

Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour made a name for himself with his play White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, which has been performed by actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, Alan Cumming, and John Hurt. In 2016 The Instant Café Theatre Company staged it in Malaysia in 3 languages using actors such as Sharifah Amani, Kuah Jenhan, Iedil Putra, Ghafir Akbar, and Ling Tang.

 

BLANK — performance curated in Kuala Lumpur by JO KUKATHAS with different performers every night. Every night a different performer is the storyteller and a member of the audience becomes the character, deciding what they want to tell us of their life. The performer will also read from a script he or she has never seen — let alone rehearsed. Some words in that script are, as the title of the play suggests, left blank for the actor and the audience to fill in. And so a new story is created collaboratively and immediately in the theatre every night.

 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

NASSIM SOLEIMANPOUR is an independent multidisciplinary theatre-maker from Tehran, Iran. His plays have been translated into 20 languages. Best known for his play White Rabbit Red Rabbit, written to travel the world when he couldn’t, his work has been awarded the Dublin Fringe Festival Best New Performance, Summerworks Outstanding New Performance Text Award and The Arches Brick Award (Edinburgh Fringe) as well as picking up nominations for a Total Theatre and Brighton Fringe Pick of Edinburgh Award.

 

MEDIA REVIEW

“Blank offers a more intimate, touching, and compassionate platform for the participant to consider their own mortality.”

(Elliot Roberts, The List, Edinburgh)

Genre: Theatre

 

Venue:

H-01, DPAC, Empire Damansara,

Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana,

47820 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor.

 

Ticket Information:

Book them here.

RM68.00 (Normal)

RM58.00 (Dcard)

 

– Damansara Performing Arts Centre 

DIALOG: Thoughts on Tunku’s Timeless Thinking

DIALOG: Thoughts on Tunku’s Timeless Thinking

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ABOUT THE BOOK

DIALOG is a major new anthology of Tunku Abdul Rahman’s enduring wit and wisdom, and the response of contemporary Malaysians to it. From politicians to rappers, from young and old, from actors to academics, Tunku’s thoughts, ideas and values continue to resonate, fascinate and illuminate.

DIALOG is a labour of love that has united dozens of Malaysians of all races, ages and walks of life such as artists, photographers, illustrators, writers and others, who have come together to create a book that is a powerful and timely tribute to “Bapa Malaysia”.

M&C Saatchi Malaysia had conceptualised, designed and edited the book with support from organisations such as the One Academy, an art and design college; Projek57, a social enterprise dedicated to keeping Tunku’s values alive; and the Rojak Projek, who had created a spice portrait of Tunku, made up of spices from all of Malaysia’s major races.

M&C Saatchi Malaysia’s chief executive officer and Tunku’s granddaughter, Datin Seri Sharifah Menyalara Hussein, who is the book’s essay contributor, summarised the creation of Dialog as a collaborative “labour of love” across races and religions that would have warmed Tunku’s own heart.  

 

FEATURING: 

– More than 20 individual essays in response to Tunku’s quotes

– Previously untold anecdotes and recollections, plus rare and unseen photos

– Dozens of original illustrations by The One Academy, a leading art & design college

– Specially-composed tribute lyrics to Tunku by Altimet

– A spice portrait of Tunku, made of spices used by all major Malaysian races

– The views of Malaysians aged 5 to 90 on Tunku’s continuing relevance to Malaysia’s future

ABOUT GERAKBUDAYA

Gerakbudaya is a publisher and distributor of books that embody social awareness, alternative perspectives, and the hidden histories of Malaysia, Southeast Asia & the wider world we live in.

Gerakbudaya is dedicated to the circulation of timely and important books, to breaking down artificial barriers between writers/thinkers and between institutions and the outside world, and generating informed discussions on important issues in Malaysian life by providing different views and fresh insights.

CONTENTS:

PREFACE TO THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

FOREWORD: ‘HIDDEN HANDS’ BY SAID ZAHARI

INTRODUCTION: QUESTIONING OFFICIAL HISTORY

  • THE ALLIANCE RACIAL FORMULA
  • THE 1969 GENERAL ELECTIONS
  • RECORD OF THE RIOTS
  • FOREIGN ASSESSMENTS OF THE REGIME CHANGE
  • THE NEW UMNO RULING CLASS
  • CONCLUSION: TOWARD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION

NOTES

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

“As far as I am concerned, I am not very interested
in politics. I am more interested in administering the
government and looking after the welfare and
the well being of the people and the nation.”

Excerpt from ‘Not your, not my, but our Malaysia’ by Ambiga Sreenevasan

The results of the 9 May 2018 General Election were nothing short of a miracle. Many never imagined seeing the Barisan Nasional government lose power in their lifetime. We must never forget this precious moment in history, achieved after decades of struggle and sacrifice by so many. We now have a functioning democracy and we must cherish this and work hard to ensure we never lose it again.

Much is expected of this new government. We want them to succeed. It is understandable that our leaders are preoccupied with economic issues, tackling corruption and checking abuse of power in the various ministries. Nevertheless, it is also important that this government spends some time focusing on the well-being of all. It was our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who neatly encapsulated his own “people-first” philosophy in these words:

“As far as I am concerned, I am not very interested in politics. I am more interested in administering the government and looking after the welfare and the wellbeing of the people and the nation.”

After all, the previous government took racism, discrimination, divisiveness and the oppression of marginalised communities to new heights (or depths)! The people expect this government to govern differently. To unite rather than to divide, and to empower rather than to destroy.

How has this government performed in terms of being a government for all? It has been stated that: “The measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest members”. Indeed, that must be true, for it is not the strong who need protection, but the weak, vulnerable and the marginalised.

In Malaysia, these include our children, abused women, the Orang Asli community, refugees, religious minorities, the poor, the LGBT community and the stateless, to name a few. How the government treats and provides for these groups will demonstrate whether or not they are and can be a government for all.

Again, we can turn for inspiration not just to Tunku’s words, but to his actual deeds. He wanted all citizens to receive fair treatment. It was largely due to his efforts that Malaysian women in the workforce gradually gained an equal footing with men in the post-Merdeka era.

It was during his premiership that we witnessed the first female civil servants and cabinet ministers, as well as the passage of important laws that established women’s pension rights and right to equal pay for equal work.

On a less official, but no less inspiring level, Tunku demonstrated a life-long affinity for those in society

who were marginalised and vulnerable. Well before he became Prime Minister, he helped to rehabilitate over 100 refugees who had fled the infamous Death Railway in Burma during World War Two.

Even when he was out of power in the mid-1970s, it was Tunku’s compassion for the less fortunate which was the prime mover behind Malaysia’s acceptance of close to 10,000 Cham refugees fleeing the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge.

Each era of Malaysia’s history has presented new challenges concerning marginalised or vulnerable groups. In new Malaysia’s first 100 days, we have been confronted with several such issues.

Read more in Dialog: Thoughts on Tunku’s Timeless Thinking

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MAY 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 (Second Edition)

MAY 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 (Second Edition)

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Suaram adviser Kua Kia Soong has called for the declassification of the official documents on the May 13, 1969 riots. In 2007, Kua had written a book titled “May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969.” He republished the book this year to commemorate the dark history. The tragic May 13 broke out three days after the 1969 general election where the Chinese-dominated opposition parties DAP and Gerakan had made electoral gains. Official reports claimed a total of 196 were killed, but British diplomats at the time estimated it to be around 800. 

This is the first credible account of the May 13, 1969 racial riots/program in Malaysia using documents recently declassified at the Public Records Office, London after the lapse of the 30-year secrecy rule.

Since local sources remain classified or have been destroyed, these documents provide the only available confidential observations and memoranda by British and other foreign embassy operative. They include dispatches by correspondents which were then banned in Malaysia.

A social scientist, Kua Kia Soong provides a fresh political analysis of this “May 13 Incident”. In his view, the riots were by no means a spontaneous of violence between Malays and Chinese but rather an orchestrated coup d’etat by the ascendant state capitalist class against the Tunku-led aristocracy. He discusses the contradictions of the post-independence Alliance racial formula and traces the rise of the Malay state capitalist class in UMNO which has ruled Malaysia since 1969.

With this publication, the frequently raised “spectre of May 13” by the Barisan Nasional government to deter any challenge to the status quo has been forever put to rest and the political tsunami of 2008 is proof that Malaysians are finally free from the fear of fascism.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Kua Kia Soong is a director of human rights organization SUARAM. He was arrested under the Internal Security Act during “Operation Lalang” in 1987 and detained for 445 days without trial. Upon his release in 1989, he helped to found SUARAM (Suara Rakyat Malaysia), a leading human rights organization in Malaysia. 

Together with other civil rights activists, he joined the Opposition Front in 1990 and was elected Opposition Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya from 1990 to 1995. He was a prisoner of conscience for a second time in 1996 when he spent seven days in prison with other activists for organizing the Second Asia Pacific Conference on East Timor which was disrupted by a mob from the ruling coalition.

He was the Principle of the New Era College, a non-profit tertiary-level institution run by the Chinese education movement (2000-2008); Director of Huazi Research Center set up by the Malaysian Chinese community (1985-90) and Academic Adviser to the Independent Chinese Secondary Schools (1983-85).

Kua received his BA Econ (1975), MA Econ (1976) and PhD in Sociology (1981) from Manchester University, UK. He was a lecturer in sociology at the National University of Singapore in 1978-79.

CONTENTS:

PREFACE TO THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

FOREWORD: ‘HIDDEN HANDS’ BY SAID ZAHARI

INTRODUCTION: QUESTIONING OFFICIAL HISTORY

  • THE ALLIANCE RACIAL FORMULA
  • THE 1969 GENERAL ELECTIONS
  • RECORD OF THE RIOTS
  • FOREIGN ASSESSMENTS OF THE REGIME CHANGE
  • THE NEW UMNO RULING CLASS
  • CONCLUSION: TOWARD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION

NOTES

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE BOOK…

“A day after the book hit the shelves, three senators called for action to be taken against the book and Kua, while Deputy Internal Security Minister Fu Ah Kiow said the ministry was studying the contents to decide on a course of action. Ten copies of the book have already been confiscated for “studying” by the Internal Security Ministry from a major bookstore chain in Kuala Lumpur.”

-Andrew Ong, Malaysiakini 18 May 2007 

“The allegations made in the book could stoke racial sentiments… I have been told that (Kua) named certain leaders as people responsible for the riots. That of course can lead to all kinds of unpredictable responses since the leaders he named were apparently not Chinese but Malay. It creates a difficult situation in our fragile society… Khoo said the authorities should have monitored the progress of the book earlier rather than reacting after the book was published… But then people will be unhappy that such actions curb freedom of speech, which is a very relative thing. People have to be careful in dealing with such matters.”

-Prof Khoo Kay Khim, Malaysiakini 15 May 2007

“Banning a controversial book on the May 13 riots will violate the right to freedom of expression enshrined in the Federal Constitution… In an age where information flows freely, constitutional freedoms must be honoured rather than breached. Laws and regulations which purport to grant power to the state to proscribe publications arbitrarily must only be used under the most exceptional circumstances…The book may indeed be controversial but if the government does not agree with the issues raised, it should refute them in an open and transparent manner…More significantly, banning this book will reinforce its thesis that the May 13 riots were indeed caused by a coup plotted by certain leaders to oust (then premier) Tunku Abdul Rahman.”           

PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysiakini 17 May 2007

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Embrace yourself for the shower of fantabulous prizes when you buy a home

Embrace yourself for the shower of fantabulous prizes when you buy a home

Have you dreamt of owning a brand-new car, travel to your dream destination and go on a shopping spree for… FREE? Unbelievable? Too good to be true? Well, not anymore! RC Residences is determined to make your dream come true and all you have to do is purchase a RC Residences unit. Celebrate Raya with us this coming 22nd June at RC Residences Sales Gallery, book a unit on the spot and stand a chance to win amazing prizes worth RM130,000!

For the love of their buyers, they have multiplied the prizes and 16 lucky buyers will walk away with shopping vouchers worth RM3,000 each. Grab this golden opportunity by taking part in the Glorious Raya Bonanza event to own a home and win fantastic prizes.

The prize shower does not end there as you can win an exclusive RC luggage bag by participating in their Snap & Win Giveaway and join their Wonderland of Magical Joy’s special lucky draw from 15th-30th June at RC Residences Sales Gallery. One can know more about this project and the perks of living there when they attend these fun-filled events. It is notable that their sales gallery is open daily from 9am-6pm.

RC Residences is a remarkably affordable and contemporary residences in KL city. The strategic location, impeccable facilities, easy accessibilities and amenities makes it one of KL city’s prime residential addresses. It is located right opposite the upcoming Bandar Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail and also, it is surrounded by three prestigious schools, various medical centres, shopping malls and train station. Hence, one can enjoy an absolutely hassle-free life right here. RC Residences offers a low monthly repayment and 5-year maintenance fee waiver for their buyers as they aim to make everyone a homeowner.

The pricing of their 800-sf. unit is from RM358,800 and the units are currently selling like hot cakes. So, hurry up and grab your dream home right away! Join the Glorious Raya Bonanza and Wonderland of Magical Joy to book your unit and win incredible prizes.

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RC Residences Sales Gallery

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Flying into the future with drones

Flying into the future with drones

Written by Arisha Rozaidee

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is a remote-controlled pilotless aircraft! In recent years, the drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) technology industry in Malaysia has really taken off. Many local companies and organizations are quickly catching up with other international bodies who have been pioneering the industry from the very beginning. However, there is a common misconception that drones are purely for aerial photography enthusiasts or that DroneTech is currently only at a conceptual level. In truth, drones as part of the new wave of technological innovation has many functions ranging from search-and-rescue operations to agricultural usage.

But drones as a piece of hardware alone and in itself can only do so much. In a recent roundtable between DroneTech firms in Malaysia and other industry stakeholders, Kamarul Muhamed, CEO and founder of Aerodyne group mentioned, “To us, AI is the holy grail. It’s not about the physical hardware. Drones are just a platform, it’s all about automating the process”. It is not only the application of the hardware usage of drones that will disrupt numerous industries, it is what the drone’s flying data can be analysed into that will bring a cataclysmic change to how other industries operate.

Based on a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global market for drone-powered business solutions is currently valued at US$127.3 billion. In Rwanda and Switzerland, UAVs and drones have been used to transport healthcare supplies and specimens to hospitals that are a far distance away from their launch origin. Locally, the industry is getting attention and garnering interests from numerous different industries. In April 2019, the local national mail provider Pos Malaysia and Communications and Multimedia Commission Multimedia (MCMC) recently held two-day Parcel Drone Competition. Not wanting to lose out in the global race for drone adoption, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Minister, YB Gobind Singh Deo is aiming for the adoption of commercial use of drones in the postal and courier industry within five years.

One of the home-grown contributors to the future of Malaysian DroneTech is Jin Xi Cheong, founder and CEO of Poladrone in Malaysia. Poladrone is one of the first in Malaysia to specialise in building custom UAV solutions. They offer services such as training individuals towards licensing, repairing machinery and also providing other businesses access to DroneTech. Sharing insights from his company, Jin Xi Cheong says that Poladrone mainly focuses on serving the agricultural sector in Malaysia where drones help increase crop production and monitor crop growth while reducing labor and also occupational accidents.

Poladrone joins the ranks of many other Malaysian DroneTech firms such as Aerodayne, OFO TECH, Pulsar UAV, IR Technic, Average Drone, Tinjau Mahir, and Syarikat System Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd. Two of these companies have achieved commendable milestones both in Malaysia and abroad; Aerodayne is the only Malaysian company to have made it the top rankings in DRONEII’s 2018 Drone Operator Ranking report at 7th place and Syarikat System Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd won the main prize in the Parcel Drone Competition held locally here in Malaysia.

Working with these local DroneTech firms by helping them connect with a team of researchers, business owners, and policy makers is Futurise – a Malaysian agency whose mission is to develop an innovation platform that stimulates and accelerates capacity building, innovation and commercialisation of futuristic solutions. Mahadhir Aziz, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Futurise Centre in Cyberjaya, sees the potential in the local drone industry as he claims that the use of drones is prevalent and spreads out between many different fields such as oil and gas, construction and agriculture. Futurise works towards pushing our Malaysian pride in the drone industry into the right direction.

Although these parties are very optimistic about the future of drones in Malaysia, their biggest challenge to date is the lack of exposure and public knowledge of the drone industry. Currently, drone services are mostly exclusive to either big business owners and a handful of hobbyists who utilize drones for individual use such as for photography or racing. It is still a challenge for the Malaysian DroneTech industry to penetrate the public sector.

To overcome that, Futurise and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has joined forces to make sure information about DroneTech, its potential and opportunities, are accessible to the public. Supported by Cyberview and Malaysia Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC), Futurise and MDEC are organizing Malaysia Drone Expo, MyDroneX, a one-day event which focuses on everything drone related to deliver participants an opportunity to get up close and personal with drones and also the biggest names in DroneTech.

MyDroneX also aims to bust all the misconceptions about DroneTech that the public may have and hopefully garner support from more people so the DroneTech industry in Malaysia could prosper. Speaking on behalf of the GAIN Programme by MDEC, Safuan Zairi says, “Having this event, MyDroneX, provides an opportunity for people to become more aware and from awareness comes adoption. You can expect to learn and unlearn a lot of things about Drone Tech”. The event which will take place on 17 June 2019 will feature forums, workshops, competitions and even a marketplace; welcoming people from all walks of life to see the future Malaysia is flying into with DroneTech.

The significance of Mandarin as the next global language?

The significance of Mandarin as the next global language?

By Kate Carden-Brown (Head of Higher Education and Careers)

Although English has traditionally been seen as the global language, ever increasing numbers of Chinese businesses are gaining prominence in industries all over the world. As a result, the capacity to speak Mandarin has become a valuable asset. Furthermore, with China showing no signs of slowing down its expansion, this linguistic skill will undoubtedly increase in demand. Whether or not Mandarin will overtake English as the primary global language is still up for debate, but to deny that it is a possible global language of the future is foolish at best.

It is clear that this fact is recognised by parents as a small, but growing, number of American parents are sending their children to bilingual Chinese immersion schools. They recognise that Mandarin could offer their children a competitive advantage in the future jobs market. To speak Chinese allows you to begin to understand how Mandarin speakers see the world, how they perceive things. This is a vital step towards becoming culturally competent and commercially strategic for those in global business.

As an exemplar, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg recently surprised his Chinese audience when he delivered a 30 minute speech in Mandarin. Furthermore, the head of the US – China Institute advocates that more western CEOs learn Mandarin to avoid being at a disadvantage given the booming Chinese business infrastructure and the massive purchasing power of Chinese citizens.

So will Mandarin replace English as the next global language? Answer: not yet. English rose to prominence through the British Empire and as a result there are native English speakers to be found across the globe. English is the language of shared popular culture – music, film, even sport. In addition, English undeniably remains the language of technology – note that most languages do not even have their own term for ‘Internet’, ‘text’ or ‘hashtag’.

Some argue that English is an inherently neutral language as there is no gender and it makes no class distinctions (for example there is only one form of ‘you’ with no deferential version for use with a boss or an elder). English is also politically neutral; it is not associated with one country and the most dominant English language countries have a tradition of free speech. English is egalitarian and its association with freedom, according to many, means that it will remain the global language.

Chinese is obviously a more difficult language to master; its tone and writing system render it more difficult for adults to learn. It is estimated that it takes 4 times longer for a native English speaker to become proficient in Chinese than it does to reach a similar level in French or Spanish.

Therefore, it would seem that, for the next generation at least, Mandarin will not replace English as the global language. That said, Mandarin is becoming increasingly important as China moves ever closer towards replacing the US as the world’s largest economy. Those who are fortunate enough to be bilingual in English and Mandarin will surely be sought after by future employers and will enjoy a significant advantage as they enter the job market.  It is for these reasons that we value the benefits of providing intensive Mandarin provision at Epsom College in Malaysia. English and Mathematics rightly dominate our academic spectrum from the Prep School to A-Level classes, but the advantages of Mandarin fluency are now apparent to all in education, from pupils to parents. At Epsom we embrace these linguistic initiatives and thrive on providing pupils with the very best opportunities for developing their language skill-set in both English and Mandarin.

Join us for an Info Day for prospective Sixth Form students on 15 June. All Year 11 students and SPM leavers are invited. Our Sixth Form specialists will be on hand to give advice and guidance about subject combinations, university applications and your future career options.